Inking perforator



June 12, 1951 c. E. FAULKNER INKING PERFORATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJan. 11, 194'? fIYJ/HTEF C um; 5s 5 flvuLKA/Ee June 1951 c. E. FAULKNER2,556,687

mxmc PERFORATOR Filed Jan. 11, 947' 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 (HAEL is 5. Fun.K/vse June 12, 1951 c, E, FAULKNER 2,556,687

INKING PERFORATOR ivy 5 17751" (HARLES E. IQULKNEB June 12, 1951 c. E.FAULKNER 2,556,687

INKING PERFORATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 000000 oo oo 00000 0 oo 00 oooooo 000 00 0 0 o so o O O O O O O 0 O O O00 000 OO OO 0on O O 0 OO 0 o o o O O O 0 0600000 00 b M fill/5t Patented June 12,1951 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

- This invention relates to a machine for selectively perforatingsheets, and particularly deals with a perforating and inking machinecapable of punching holes in stacked sheets while inking the rim of eachhole so that the perforated indicia can be easily read.

The invention will hereinafter be specifically described as embodied ina perforating and inking machine for forming ink-rimmed indicia definingperforations in stacked sheets of orders in a mail order house. Itshould be understood, however, that machines of this invention are notlimited for use in mail order houses, but are generally useful forselectively perforating and inking sheets of paper or the like.

The machine of this invention produces easily readable legends in eachsheet in a stack of sheets irrespective of the number of the sheets andautomatically advances on each stroke to produce sequentially advancedlegends in the sheets of the next stack. This automatic operatingprinciple of the machine eliminates unwanted possible duplication of thesame legends in sheets of successive stacks and yet avoids skips in thepredetermined sequential arrangement of legends.

In the mail order business, customers frequently list many items on asingle order and, since the diiierent items are stored in differentdepartments of the mail order house, these orders must be itemized onindividual sheets that can be routed to the particular departmenthandling the item. After a separate sheet has been made out for eachitem or each department involved in the customers order, all of thesheets are stacked to constitute the entire order. It is then necessarythat this order be routed through the various departments and becompleted to reach a collection bin in the packing department within adesignated time. For this purpose, according to this invention, all ofthe stacked sheets are perforated with marking indicia, and theperforations of each sheet are rimmed with ink, so that the indicia willbe more readily identified. One set of indicia will indicate the date.Another set of indicia indicates the time in which the order is to befinished and in the collecting bin. Still another set of indiciadesignates the collecting bin, while another indicia designates thenumber of the packer. The date indicia, of course, remains constant foreach 24-hour period. The time indicia changes in accordance with theschedule of operation. In some mail order houses the time change isindicated every minutes. The bin number, of course, must change for eachorder. The packers number may be the same for several groups of binnumbers, since one packer handles a group of bins.

The machine of this invention is arranged with a date plate that need bechanged only once every 24 hours, a time plate that need only be changedin accordance with the timing system of the mail order house, forexample, every 20 minutes, and a selector plate which changes for eachorder to designate the packer and the bin number for the order. Themachine of this invention has an automatic feed device for, changingselector plates.

The date plate, the time plate, and the selector plate control operationof pins which pass through an inked pad and simultaneously perforate andink the stacked sheets of the order. A non-volatile ink is used in thepad. Mimeographing ink is satisfactory since it will dry by absorptioninto the paper around the rims of the holes punched by the pins. Thepins are arrangedto carry the ink into the holes for absorption by therims of the holes.

The machines of this invention will punch and ink large numbers ofstacked sheets and the rims oi the holes in the bottom sheets will stillbe outlined in ink carried thereto by the pins even after the pins havepassed through a number of previous sheets.

The pin-actuating plates are perforated to allow passage of all pinstherethrough except the pins that are to punch the sheets. Carriages areprovided in the machine for these perforated plates, and a motor drivingthe machine reciprocates the carriages as well as a feeder device forfeeding the selector plates to a carriage.

An object of the invention is to provide a perforating machine, suitablefor use in mail order houses and. the like, for punching selectedindicia in stacks of sheets.

, Another object of the invention is to provide a machine which willsimultaneously perforate and ink a stack of sheets so that theperforations are rimmed with ink and are more easily identified.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a perforatingmachine having perforating pins selectively actuated by selector plateswhich are fed to the machine as desired to change the perforated indiciaas desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a perforatingmachine with a bank of perforating pins that pass through an inked padto carry ink to the rims of the perforations produced thereby thusmaking the perforated indicia easily read.

'by a perforated plate H. :of the plate I2 are arranged in groups andoverlie assess? A still further object of the invention is to provide aperforating machine having perforating pins selectively actuated byperforated selector plates which are automatically fed to the machine asdesired.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theannexed sheets of drawings which, by way of a preferred example only,illustrate one embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the perforatingmachine of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational detail view, withparts in vertical cross section, illustrating the manner in which a pinof the machine carries ink through the perforations in sheets of a stackas it perforates the sheets.

' Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view, with parts in endelevation, taken substantially along the line IIIIII of Figure l andshowing the machine in open position.

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional View, with parts in top plan,taken along the line IVIV of Figure l and illustrated on a somewhatenlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional View, with parts in frontelevation, taken substantially along the line V--V of Figure 3, andillustrating the driving connection for the plate carriages of themachine.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Figures 1 and 3.

Figure '7 is a vertical cross-sectional View, with parts in frontelevation, taken along the line vlI-VII of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 3 but illustrating the machine in aclosed or punching position.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a selector plate used in the machine of thisinvention.

Figure 10 is a plan view of a sheet perforated by the machine of thisinvention as controlled by the selector plate of Figure 9.

- Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10 but illustrating all of theindicia produced by both sections of the machine of this invention.

Figure 12 is an enlarged view similar to Figure 10 but betterillustrating the outlining of the rims of the perforations with ink torender the perforated indicia more clearly visible.

As shown on the drawings:

As shown in Figures 1, 3, 6, '7, and 8, the perforating machine it ofthis invention includes a table or bed plate I supported on legs orother carrying structure (not shown). The table II has a rectangularaperture Ha therein covered The perforations |2a the aperture Ha.

A pair of vertical plates I3 and M are mounted on the perforated platel2 and extend upwardly I5 is carried in The plate I5 is perforated atidea in the same manner as the plate I2. A slot S is provided betweenthe plates l2 and I5 for receiving a stack of sheets S. S. to beperforated. A block I1 is mounted on the front edge of the plate l5 toprovide a beveled inlet mouth for the slot S. A stop bar i8 is disposedbetween the plates l2 and |5 at the rear end of the slot S to provide anabutment for the stack of sheets S. S.

A third vertical plate I9 is mounted between the plates I3 and E4 on thehorizontal plate |5. This plate l9, as shown in Figure 6, does notextend rearwardly as far as the plates i3 and IS. A rear end plate 23 ismounted between the plates l3 and i5 and is secured thereto at the rearedge thereof.

A perforated horizontal guide plate 2| extends across the space betweenthe plates l3 and I9 and is fixedly mounted therein in grooves as bestshown in Figures 1 and '7. Each plate It and has two vertical tracks 22above the plate 2|. These vertical tracks slidably support a carriage 23having four posts 24 riding on the tracks and connected by means of ahorizontal perforated pin-lifting plate 25 and a top rectangular frame2% which is grooved around the internal periphery thereof and is slottedthrough its front face to removably receive a perforated selector plate21. The plate is easily removed from the frame 26 as shown in Figures 3and 8. The posts 24 extend upwardly beyond the frame 26 and front andrear aligned posts 25 are connected to the arms 28a of a yoke member 28.The yoke 28 has its bight portion 28?) adjacent the rear wall 26 andconnected to a vertical driving arm 29 which, as shown in Figure 5, inturn, is connected to a horizontal arm 30, which arm 38 is on a drivingarm 3|. The arm 3| slides through a guide 32 on the back plate 26 andthrough slots in the plates H and I2 as shown in Figure 8 to dependbeneath the table of the machine and be acted thereon by a drivingeccentric as will be more fully hereinafter explained. A spring 33 pullsthe arm 3| upwardly.

The carriage 23 is thus mounted for reciprocal vertical movement on thetracks 22 between the plates I3 and I9.

A fixed horizontal perforated guide plate 34 spans the space between thevertical plates M and I9 and is mounted therein in grooves. Tracks 22identical with the tracks described between the plates |3 and i9 arealso provided on the plates [4 and I9 and slidably support a carriage 35composed of posts 36, a perforated retractor plate 31, and a groovedrectangular frame 38. The plates l4 and I9 are higher than the plate |3and the carriage 35 is raised to a higher level than the carriage 23.The upper ends of the posts 36 of the carriage are connected to the arms39a of a second yoke 39 having its bight portion 391; connected to anarm 40 which, in turn, is mounted on the cross arm 30, as best shown inFigure 5. It will be obvious from Figure 5 that the yokes 28 and 39 aresimultaneously moved when the arm 3| is reciprocated.

As best shown in Figures 6 and '7, a horizontal plate 4| is mounted in aslot on the vertical plate I4 and extends horizontally therefrom inspaced relation above the table The outer ends of the plate 4| aresupported on posts 42 or the like. The plate 4| is slotted through oneend thereof at 4| a and slidably receives a block 43 carrying a plate 44which overlies the plate 4|. The block 43 serves to guide the plate 44along the slot. Tracks 45, 45 straddle the plate 44 and extend along thetop of the plate 4| through the slot in the plate l4 to terminateadjacent the carriage 35 for alignment with the frame 38 of into thespace between the tracks 45 to be acted on in succession by the plate 44which will advance the plates 41 successively into the frame 38. It willbe noted that the frame 38 is grooved around its internal periphery, butit is slotted through its Side faces so that a plate 41 can be passedcompletely through the frame 38 and through a slot in the plate l9 to adischarge track 48 extending over the plate |3.

A pusher bar 49 is attached to the block 43 and extends downwardlytherefrom through a slot I lb in the table II. A tension spring 50(Figure '1) is anchored on the bar 49 beneath the table II tending topull the bar to the right.

A gear rotatably mounted under the table H carries a roller 52 foracting on an extension 49a of the bar 49 to shift the bar to the leftagainst the pull of the spring. This action reciprocates the block 43and the advancing stroke of the block is suificient to move one plate 41out from under the post 46 to the position shown between these posts andthe plate M. The next stroke will move this 'plate into the carriage 38.One plate 41 is always positioned between the plates in the stack andthe plate in the carriage frame 38.

The gear 5! is connected through a gear 53 with-a gear 54 that is drivenby an electric motor 55 as best shown in Figure 3. The electric motor issuspended under the table The yokeactuating bar 3| has a foot 3| a onthe lower end thereof lying in the path of a roller 56 on the gear 54 sothat, as the gear is rotated, this roller 56 will engage the foot 5| todepress the arm 3| thereby moving both carriages 23 and 35 through avertical stroke. The gear diameters are so arranged that the stroke willbe of the proper magnitude. The spring 33 pulls the carriages to thetops of their strokes.

The carriages 23 controls operation of one bank of perforating pins 51while the carriage 35 controls operation of a second bank of perforatingpins 58. Each bank of pins 51 and 58 is composed of a large number ofpins 59 arranged in sets. In the illustrated machine the pins of eachset are disposed in four rows of six pins eachhaving a diameter ofone-sixteenth of an inch. The pins are spaced vertically on centers thatare three-thirty-seconds of an inch apart and are slidably guided in thestationary plates I5, 2 I, and 24 as well as in the carriage-carriedplates 25 and 31. Each pin has a collar 59a or other enlarged portionsecured thereon to rest on the carriagecarried plate 25 or 31 so thatthe pins will be raised when the carriage is raised to move the carriageplate 25 or 31 against the collar.

The pins of the bank 51 pass through an inking pad 60 mounted on theplate I5. The pins of the bank 58 pass through a second inking pad Blalso on this plate l5. The two inking pads are composed of felt or othermatted fibrous material having rubbing contact with the pins. Ink I,such as mimeograph ink, is fed to the pads 60 and BI from a container 62through tubes 63 projecting between adjacent sets of pins in overlyingrelation to the pads and having drain holes therethrough over the padsto drip ink on the pads.

As best shown in Figure 2, each pin 59 has circumferential grooves 59btherearound at spaced intervals along its length. Ink I from the inkingpads 6|) or 3| fills these grooves 5912 as the pin moves through thepad. The ink also coats the circumference of the pin. The coating andthe ink deposit in the grooves is transferred to the sheets of the stackS. S. during the perforating operation so that each hole created by apin is rimmed with ink I as shown in Figure 1 2. This makes the indiciaof the holes more readily readable. Since the ink is of a type thatdries by absorption into the paper, it will spread around the holes asillustrated. This condition obtains on each sheet of the stackirrespective of whether or not the sheet be in the top, middle, orbottom of the stack S. S.

A selector plate 41 is illustrated in Figure 9 as having holes punchedtherethrough to receive all of the pins in the bank 58 with theexception of those pins that will form the legend illustrated in thesheet of paper P in Figure 10. When this selector plate is placed in theframe 38, and the carriage 35 is moved on its downward stroke, the pinsaligned with the holes in the plate 41 will pass through these holes andwill not move downwardly through the inking pad 6|. However, those pinswhich are aligned with the solid or imperforate portions of the plate 41will be acted on by the plate as the carriage moves downward and forcedto move with the carriage through the inking pad and the perforations inthe plate |,5 across the slot S, through a stack of sheets S. S. in thisslot, and into the perforations of the plate I? as shown in Figure 8. Onthe upstroke of the carriage, the plate 31 will thrust against thecollars on the pins to raise the pins out of the sheets and slotsthereby retracting them to their original positions. The friction of theinking pad on the pins will hold all pins not acted on by the plate 41from movement. The plate 41, as shown in Figure 10, forms the indiciaBl5 indicating the bin number for collection of the order. Beneath thisindicia the numeral 128 designates the packers number.

A. similar operation on the pins in the bank 51 will perforate the paperP with legends controlled by a plate in the frame 26 of the carriage 23.This plate is perforated to show the date and the time. Since the dateremains constant for 24- hour periods, and since, in a mail order'house,the time changes only at intervals of twenty minutes to one-half hour,the plate 21 in the frame 26 can be manually changed when desired.

Therefore, the automatic feed used for the selector plate A1 is not usedfor the bank 51 of pins. If desired, a plate in the frame 26 can besplit into two sections and the date section can remain for a 24-hourperiod while the time section can be changed at the desired interval.

Operation A stack of sheets S. S. to be perforated and inked by themachine of this invention is placed in the slot S of the machine, andthe motor is energized to drive the gears 54, 53, and 5|. The roller 56on the gear 54 will act on the foot 3| a of the bar 3| to simultaneouslypull both carriages 23 and 35 downwardly in their respective tracksagainst the tension of the spring 33. The selector plate 21 in the frame26 of the carriage 23 will act on the bank 51 of pins to force selectedpins downwardly through the inking pad and through the stack of sheetsS. S. for perforating a date and time indicia in each of the sheets withthe holes defining the indicia being rimmed with ink as shown in Figure12. At the same time, the selector plate 41 in the frame 38 of thecarriage 35 will act on selected pins of the bank 58 to move these pinsthrough the inkingpad El and through the stack of sheets S. S. toperforate them With other desired indicia, such as the bin number of theorder, and the packers number. Perforations are formed on the downstrokeof the machine and, as illustrated in Figure 2, the pins pick up ink Ifrom the inking pad to fill the grooves 59b thereof for carrying ink toall of the sheets in the stack. This ink is of a nondrying nature andspreads around the rims of the perforated holes to render these holesmore readily visible.

As the motor continues to rotate the gears, the roller 56 on the gear 54is moved away from the foot Bio of the actuating bar 31 and the spring33 returns the carriages to their top positions in the tracks. In thesepositions, the carriage 35 has its frame 38 aligned with the slots inthe plates 14 and 19. The roller 52 on the gear 51 then acts on theextension 49a of the bar 49 to slide the plate 44 under the stack ofplates 4? in the rack provided by the tracks 46 thereupon moving thebottom plate out of this stack and forcing the preceding plate into theframe 38. This movement of the preceding plate 4-? into the frameautomatically ejects the plate that was used for the above-describedperforating operation. The ejected plate is received in the tracks 53.The machine is thereupon ready for the next perforating operation and isequipped with a new selector plate 6-? so that the next stack of sheetsinserted in the machine will show a different bin number and a differentpackers number. When it is desired to change the selector plate 2? inthe frame 20 of the carriage 23, the plate is easily withdrawn manuallyby pulling it forwardly out of the frame as illustrated in Figure 3,

The machine of this invention provides for the automatic feeding ofselector plates on each stroke of the machine, as well as for the manualreplacement of selector plates. It is only necessary to place theselector plates in a stack in the upstanding feed tracks 49 forautomatically supplying the machine.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and is is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A perforating and inking machine comprising a reciprocal carriage, aplate-receiving frame on carriage, a plurality of perforated selectorplates movable onto said frame, a feed device for automaticallysupplying selector plates individually to said frame, a bank ofperforating pins arranged in sets for selective actuation to coactagainst certain of the pins in said bank for forcing the pins throughthe inking pad and material in said slot to form indicia composed ofinkrimmed holes in the material, and means on said carriage forretracting the pins out of the material.

2. A perforating machine comprising a support structure, a bank ofperforating pins arranged in groups to be selectively actuated forforming marking indicia, guides for said pins, a carriage slidablyreceiving said pins and disposed for movement in said structure, collarson said pins, a perforated plate on said carriage slidably receiving thepins therethrough but adapted to thrust against the collars thereon forretracting the pins, a frame on said carriage, said frame having anopen-ended plate-receiving support, means on said machine supporting astack of perforated selector plates adjacent said frame, and means forfeeding selector plates in succession from the bottom of said stack intosaid frame for movement with said carriage against predetermined pins insaid bank for forcing the pins to move with the carriage and produceperforations of a selected pattern.

3. A perforating machine comprising two adjacent banks of slidablysupported perforating pins, each bank being composed of sets of pins insufficient number to be selectively operated and outline difierentdigits, a reciprocally mounted frame for each bank of pins, said frameshaving plate-receiving recesses to carry selector plates for acting onthe pins, means for automatically feeding perforated selector plates toone of said frames, the other of said frames being arranged for readilyreceiving a selector plate, means for reciprocating both of said framesto carry the plates against the pins in the respective banks therebyaccommodating certain of the pins in the banks while allowing other pinsto pass freely through the perforations in the plates, and means forretracting the pins actuated by said plates.

CHARLES E. FAULKNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 486,906 Stenwall Nov. 29, 1892847,578 Hudson Mar. 19, 1907 1,476,272 Swanson Dec. 4, 1923 1,727,471Lasker Sept. 10, 1929 1,754,034 Metzner Apr. 8, 1930 1,780,715 OlsonNov. 4, 1930 1,909,548 Peirce May 16, 1933 1,919,219 Hoffmann July 25,1933 2,227,254 Glassberg Dec. 31, 1940 2,347,333 Phillips Apr. 25, 19442,356,995 Gollwitzer Aug. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date701,240 France Mar. 13, 1931

